M047.jpg (106425 bytes)

A century ago, it was possible to travel by train from Haifa in then-Palestine to Damascus in Syria and as far south as Jordan and Arabia on the Hedjaz Railway, a huge network of narrow gauge lines built between 1900-1910 by the Turks and their German allies. In Palestine, the line traversed several rivers on stone bridges before crossing the border to Syria. Here’s a typical Hedjaz Railway bridge, in the northern Jordan Valley. This line does not exist anymore – there are no rails on the bridge. South of Tiberias, 2000. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

S8002979.jpg (134369 bytes)

Den Bau der neuen S-Bahn in der Israelischen Hauptstadt Jerusalem. Photo : Kichel Michael (Miha1982@walla.co.il)

S8003003.jpg (129275 bytes)

Den Bau der neuen S-Bahn in der Israelischen Hauptstadt Jerusalem. Photo : Kichel Michael (Miha1982@walla.co.il)

Soreq-valley-120505-NZA.jpg (138414 bytes)

Soreq-valley, Israel, 12/05/2005. Since the Spring of 2005, the Jerusalem railway line is reopened for the public. Although the distance between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is less than 100 km, the train goes one and a half hours, as Jerusalem is situated 800 m above the sea level. The last part of the route between Bet-Shemesh and Jerusalem is very scenic: the train winds in the narrow valley of the Soreq-river. It is a rare view to see open water flowing in May in Israel. The photo was taken from the last coach of a 12 coach DMU. 2005 tavasza óta a Jeruzsálemi vasút újra megnyílt a nagyközönség előtt. Noha Tel Aviv és Jeruzsálem távolsága kevesebb mint 100 km, mégis a vonat kb. másfél óra alatt teszi meg ezt a távot, mert Jeruzsálem 800 méterrel magasabban van a tengerszintnél. Az út utolsó szakasza rendkívül látványos: a vonat a Soreq-folyó szűk völgyében kanyarog. Izraelben ritka látványt nyújt a nyílt folyóvíz májusban, a legtöbb folyó eddigre elapad. A fotó egy 12 kocsis motorvonat hátsó kocsijából készült. Photo: Zoltán Ádám Németh (nza@freemail.hu)